{"id":243283,"date":"2025-06-17T09:50:43","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T09:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodeastage.it\/demo\/rural-hack\/listening-to-the-forest-interview-alessandro-chiolerio\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T12:28:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:28:03","slug":"listening-to-the-forest-interview-alessandro-chiolerio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/en\/listening-to-the-forest-interview-alessandro-chiolerio\/","title":{"rendered":"Listening to the Forest and the Plants \u2014 and Responding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Forest as a Sentient Entity and Computational Power:<\/strong> <em>An Interview with Alessandro Chiolerio on &#8220;The Forest Code&#8221; and His Work as a Researcher.<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We publish the interview conducted by Davide Gomba (DG) with Alessandro Chiolerio (AC), the researcher featured in <em>The Forest Code<\/em>, a documentary on plant communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Enjoy the read (or the watch)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Ascoltare il Bosco e le Piante, e rispondere - Intervista di Davide Gomba ad Alessandro Chiolerio\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tt4DOK9R-Iw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Introductions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> We&#8217;re here with Alessandro Chiolerio for Rural Hack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I discovered Alessandro&#8217;s story by going to the cinema, when I watched a documentary by Paolo Ceretto and Alessandro Bernard, produced by Zenit Arti Visive, titled <em>The Forest Code<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This film explores the way plants communicate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thanks to the directors\u2019 kindness, I was able to arrange this interview, which also allowed me to discover more about the world of scientific research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So without further ado, I\u2019d like to introduce Alessandro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> Hi Davide, hi everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IL-CODICE-DEL-BOSCO1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"IL CODICE DEL BOSCO1 Ascoltare il Bosco e le Piante, e rispondere\" class=\"wp-image-237067\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">foto de: \u201cil Codice del Bosco\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Can We Listen to Plants?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> How are we humans able to encode the information recorded by plants, and how can we read what they are listening to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> Let me take a small step back and explain the recording technique. We collect electrical biopotentials, which in technical jargon is called &#8220;elettroma.&#8221; It&#8217;s essentially the equivalent of an EEG, but instead of attaching it to a human brain, we apply electrodes to the trunk of the plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These recordings are made simultaneously from multiple individuals within the forest. Through the electrical fluctuations of this collective, we can associate the data with what&#8217;s happening in the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Obviously, we imagine the forest as a very sensitive ecosystem. A key concept is that plants don&#8217;t move\u2014they can\u2019t escape their surroundings. So their responses are inevitably closely tied to rain, wind, sunrise and sunset, lunar cycles, and tidal forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All of this is encoded in the electrical fluctuations, like an orchestra that we are able to record. To understand exactly what is influencing these responses, we can either manually analyze the data when we know a specific environmental event occurred (like a solar eclipse), or we can use more advanced tools like machine learning, numerical processing techniques that simplify the data and show us correlations with specific rhythms, such as the circadian cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IL-CODICE-DEL-BOSCO6-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"IL CODICE DEL BOSCO6 Ascoltare il Bosco e le Piante, e rispondere\" class=\"wp-image-237070\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">foto de: \u201cil Codice del Bosco\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Can Plants Predict an Eclipse?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> Great, thanks. You mentioned the eclipse, which we see at one point in the film trailer. How can plants \u201cpredict\u201d an eclipse so many hours in advance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> I can tell you what I know: their behavior changes from the norm already 14 hours before the event. What causes this change is still uncertain. We can\u2019t rule out several hypotheses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hypothesis 1: It could be memory. This idea appeals to ecologists because memory provides an evolutionary advantage. If a plant can remember a recurring event like an eclipse, it can prepare for the absence of sunlight, which causes stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hypothesis 2: Plants might be sensitive to something we don\u2019t yet understand or perceive. For example, 14 hours before the eclipse, the Moon is on the opposite side of the planet, so it can\u2019t cast a shadow. It\u2019s not a visual phenomenon. It might instead be gravitational. We know plants are sensitive to lunar phases and tidal forces. That could be one explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another could be the electromagnetic field. Or maybe we simply missed something that happened 14 hours earlier that we weren\u2019t aware of. The external environment is influenced by so many factors. Let&#8217;s not forget that we are constantly exposed to particles from the Sun\u2014perhaps the Earth-Sun equilibrium shifted. The forest is a sensor, a network of antennas aimed at what\u2019s happening around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The key concept I observe in the data is that these antennas aren\u2019t isolated\u2014the forest behaves like a collective entity. The antennas (plants) are somehow all interconnected. I deeply believe this, especially if you&#8217;ve ever walked through a forest and seen how the roots intertwine. It\u2019s very unlikely that plants are isolated individuals; they are part of a highly interconnected environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Did You Listen to the Plants?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> You were able to record these interconnections through a device you developed. What\u2019s it called?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> Exactly. The device is called <em>Cybertree<\/em>. It was developed and produced by a Sardinian startup\u2014I\u2019m not sure if I can say the name&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> Absolutely yes, please\u2014tell us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> It\u2019s called <em>Open Azienda<\/em>. They\u2019re friends and former colleagues from the Polytechnic who went on to found this company. They develop IoT devices, so they\u2019re very skilled in electronics, circuit design, and firmware and software development. We worked together to define the technical specifications required to operate in such conditions\u2014very strict specs, because in a forest at 1,950 meters altitude, you have to work in extreme conditions: minus 15\u00b0C in winter, up to 60\u00b0C under summer sun exposure. They did an exceptional job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These devices worked well. We collected the data and began to figure out how to correlate and study it quantitatively. For example, from the electrical noise we measured, we ran tests to see which mathematical forms could best describe and simplify the interpretation of all this data. Imagine: 25 different data streams you need to visualize and interconnect\u2014this is an overwhelming task for any human being. So simplification is necessary\u2014using different parameters like entropy or fractal dimension. There are many mathematical tools we can apply to understand what\u2019s happening in the forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Have You Developed a Way to \u201cTalk\u201d to Plants?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> Your work has helped reveal a concept of distributed intelligence in the forest. Have you also developed a way to <em>interact<\/em> with the plants\u2014not just receive data from them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> That\u2019s a really important question, thank you. We haven\u2019t developed it yet, but we recently wrote a paper\u2014currently under peer review\u2014and uploaded a preprint. It\u2019s an \u201chypothesis paper\u201d where we propose developing a kind of ecosystem computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To do this, we also need two-way communication\u2014not just listening, but also talking. The physical nature of the signal remains the same: we read an electric signal (a voltage) and inject a voltage into the system. Doing this, we should be able to modify the state of the forest. That\u2019s the hypothesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, to make it happen we need funded research and a few years of work. We\u2019ve already submitted a proposal to the European Innovation Council. We hope the evaluation is positive, so we can start experimenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Are Your Next Steps?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> What are your next steps to support this line of research?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> Consider that I\u2019m essentially a freelancer\u2014I write projects, and those that get funded become both my income and the opportunity to work independently on a specific topic. Obviously, I have to outline all the next steps. When you create a project, besides the budget, you build a timeline with all planned activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Usually, things don\u2019t go as expected\u2014or rather, something unexpected always happens. And that\u2019s perhaps the most fascinating part of research: what we call <em>serendipity<\/em>. If you stay alert, ears open, eyes observant, you\u2019ll notice phenomena that guide you to the next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Institutional investors are essential\u2014especially because research is costly. And this kind of transdisciplinary research requires building a team that includes many experts. For example, in the work published in <em>Royal Society Open Science<\/em>, we had ecologists, people working in unconventional computing, biologists, chemical-physicists, theoretical physicists, machine learning experts, programmers, electronics specialists&#8230; All these profiles had to work together and find a common language. That\u2019s not always easy\u2014getting an ecologist to talk with a machine learning expert and a quantum theorist isn\u2019t trivial. But you eventually find a balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are special cases, like the experiment in Val di Fiemme, which was entirely funded by the film production company (<em>Zenit Arti Visive<\/em>), because they had a project: making a documentary telling the story of the storm, the subtropical cyclone Vaia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IL-CODICE-DEL-BOSCO5-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"IL CODICE DEL BOSCO5 Ascoltare il Bosco e le Piante, e rispondere\" class=\"wp-image-237074\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">foto de: \u201cil Codice del Bosco\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>After Vaia Came the Bark Beetle<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> Yes, that was the initial idea. But then, once filming started, you realized there was another problem in the forest, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> Exactly. The trees that were severely damaged by the storm\u2014many were cut down\u2014but those that remained standing had cracked wood due to intense winds, making them particularly vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A tiny insect called <em>Bostrico<\/em>\u2014also known as the \u201cprinter beetle\u201d\u2014began to spread. It digs tunnels under the bark in beautiful shapes that resemble hieroglyphs, but it intercepts the sap channels, and the tree dies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One insect is enough to doom a tree. It\u2019s a parasite specific to red spruce. Its spread was also facilitated by hot recent years. Instead of one or two reproductive cycles per year, it was doing three or four. So it expanded rapidly, damaging the forest even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was massive tree felling by the forest service to contain the spread. Trees that started showing signs of infestation had to be cut down to avoid becoming outbreak centers. Also for safety: dead trees can fall, and there are lots of tourists hiking there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the same time, replanting was done\u2014aiming to transition from monoculture to polyculture. Red spruce has shallow roots, making it very sensitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Do Dead Stumps Emit Signals?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> Let\u2019s return to the topic of dead stumps. Are they able to transmit signals? Do they generate or carry them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> In that location, there was a natural amphitheater of trees left standing after the disaster\u2014arranged in a semicircle. In front, a desolate field with just stumps\u2014left there by the forest service after removing the damaged trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We decided to place sensors on the stumps, because that area was exactly in the center of the semicircle. Other sensors were placed on the edge trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To our surprise, we observed that the stumps also had their own bioelectrical activity\u2014less complex than that of a live or even a sick tree, but still present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why? Two possible explanations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One: nearby living trees might keep the dead tree\u2019s root system alive to benefit from its extension\u2014extracting more minerals from the soil and exchanging substances via touching roots. The living tree could send processed sap with sugars and nutrients to the stump\u2019s roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two: fungi. The mycelial network is everywhere. It feeds on the cellulose of dead trees, and the electrical activity might come from the fungi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Vines, Roots, and Hidden Life<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> You also mentioned vines\u2014I&#8217;m from Asti, and I have a vineyard. That curiosity led me to experiment there too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s well known: when a vine dies, removing the stump manually\u2014if you don\u2019t have an excavator\u2014is really hard. You may have to wait 3\u20134 years to pull it out. That\u2019s because the roots are still alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I once saw a root separate from the stump, and the inside was still living\u2014pinkish salmon color. I used to say: \u201cThese vines look like us humans\u2014even in color.\u201d The root was alive 3\u20134 years after the vine died, with no visible connection. Vines are planted in rows, not like a forest. The roots are deep and isolated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet the life inside persists. Something keeps it vegetating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Role Does Artificial Intelligence Play?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> Great. So you collect lots of data\u2014it gets analyzed. What role does artificial intelligence play in this? I know you&#8217;re not a fan of the term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> Yes, I don\u2019t love the term, because what we have now already existed in the 1970s\u2014it was called <em>machine learning<\/em>. What\u2019s new is that today\u2019s AI systems can take actions based on data analysis\u2014though not autonomously. These actions are pre-programmed in the algorithm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the interesting part for data analysis is really machine learning. In the case of plants, since these electric parameters are linked to environmental changes, we\u2019ve proposed in some funding applications (which I hope will be approved) that this information could be used for decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If I know the forest ecosystem is sensitive to crises like extreme rainfall, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions, I can pair this data with an AI system. When it detects the right combination of inputs, it sends an alert to civil protection agencies, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That could become a useful early warning system for events requiring human intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Using Plants as Antennas and Sensors<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> So to simplify: you&#8217;re telling me that a vineyard or a forest could be used to forecast weather, or even predict earthquakes or volcanic eruptions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> Yes\u2014particularly with volcanoes, there&#8217;s a recent study by NASA, co-signed with other institutions, that was published on a website (I don\u2019t think the article is officially out yet). It claims that plants have predictive abilities regarding volcanic activity. They noticed this through satellite images, by tracking CO\u2082 levels in the leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I can tell you what I did: I validated the possibility of making micro-local weather forecasts using 11 days of data. It\u2019s a fairly small dataset, but we gathered info from a vineyard and paired it with environmental parameters. We managed to predict temperature and relative humidity with very high accuracy\u201485 to 90%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So just imagine: with more data, collected over an entire solar year or more, we could increase the confidence of such predictions. But again, this is very local\u2014strictly micro-local.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> From my point of view as a system integrator (since I often install sensors in vineyards or fields for work), the paradigm shift here is that you\u2019re using the <em>plant itself<\/em> as a sensor. That\u2019s huge. The studies you refer to suggest that plants have a kind of competence, an awareness of what\u2019s going to happen\u2014both meteorologically and geologically\u2014much greater than the most advanced sensors we\u2019ve ever developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> I think so too. It\u2019s as if we\u2019re dealing with living biosensors. It\u2019s pretty simple, really: an organism that can\u2019t move is inevitably <em>highly<\/em> sensitive to environmental parameters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even we\u2014who <em>can<\/em> move\u2014are sensitive, though we often don\u2019t pay much attention to it. Mood swings, back pain, and other bodily signals&#8230; These things echo ancestral knowledge, the temporality of events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Are Humans Also Sensors?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> Ah, so you mean when it\u2019s going to rain, I feel that ache? Like how the weather affects your body?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> Exactly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Can We Follow Your Work?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> Okay. So first, we\u2019ll include in the video description and article all the academic papers you mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But more importantly, how can people follow your upcoming projects? Do you have a website or a link we can share to stay updated on your work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> I can give you my LinkedIn profile link\u2014it\u2019s probably the most up-to-date. It\u2019s also the professional network I use the most. I don\u2019t use other social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, each project usually comes with its own website\u2014because that\u2019s how it works nowadays. For instance, in the case of European projects, it\u2019s mandatory that within two months of funding and the project start date, you have a website up and running. So that becomes the place to publish all project content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Future Projects<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> You\u2019ve just submitted a new project. I guess you don\u2019t want to talk about it for good luck?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> Let\u2019s say there are some things I can share and others I can\u2019t\u2014because I\u2019m bound by confidentiality agreements with my partners. Some of the ideas we submitted in this project are innovative, and it must be said: the research world is extremely competitive. Today, if research isn\u2019t tied to business, nobody cares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I believe some things are important regardless of business. But still, you need funding to work. So you package the idea the right way, and you have to respect confidentiality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This particular project involves nine partners. We tried to cover all of the European Union\u2014Estonia, Sweden, the UK, Portugal, Italy, Slovenia\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the project is funded, we\u2019ll create a pilot experiment in Slovenia, in Triglav National Park. It\u2019s a stunning place, protected as a Natura 2000 site and also by UNESCO. Together with the Julian Alps National Park, it forms an incredible and continuously inhabited natural area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What\u2019s interesting is that, beyond untouched natural environments, there\u2019s a long-standing human presence. In the case of Val di Fiemme, for example, this coexistence has been codified for over 1,100 years by the <em>Magnifica Comunit\u00e0 della Val di Fiemme<\/em>. I believe it\u2019s one of the few true republics in existence, where shared management of forest resources is handled collectively by citizens. There\u2019s even a kind of parliament that governs the forest ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I believe that in this case, human nature combined with ecological conditions has brought out the best\u2014and maybe also the worst (monoculture). But still, it\u2019s a heritage and value worth preserving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So if all goes well, in Slovenia we\u2019ll set up a new bidirectional communication portal. The main difference with Val di Fiemme is that there, we only recorded data\u2014here, we\u2019ll also do <em>playback<\/em>. Who knows what will happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Next Check-In \u2013 Final Thanks<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> Okay, let\u2019s wrap it up here. But I\u2019d love to talk to you again in six to eight months to see how the project evolves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you so much for your time\u2014and thanks also to Zenit Arti Visive, Paolo Ceretto, and Alessandro Bernard for making <em>The Forest Code<\/em>, a documentary that tells part of the story we explored today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AC:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Davide. And everyone\u2014go watch the documentary. It\u2019s absolutely worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DG:<\/strong> Definitely\u2014<em>The Forest Code<\/em>.<br>Bye everyone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/openddb.it\/film\/il-codice-del-bosco\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/locandina.jpg\" alt=\"locandina Ascoltare il Bosco e le Piante, e rispondere\" class=\"wp-image-237083\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Referenced Papers<\/strong>:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/earth\/natural-disasters\/volcanoes\/nasa-satellites-provide-early-volcano-warnings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/earth\/natural-disasters\/volcanoes\/nasa-satellites-provide-early-volcano-warnings\/<\/a><br>(<em>Plants anticipating volcanic eruptions<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-8994\/14\/9\/1792\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-8994\/14\/9\/1792<\/a><br>(<em>Circadian rhythm, stump complexity, forest as a collective in-phase system<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2313-7673\/8\/1\/122\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2313-7673\/8\/1\/122<\/a><br>(<em>Thermodynamics and quantum bioelectricity<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5227558\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5227558<\/a><br>(<em>Hypothesis: Using an ecosystem as a computer<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.preprints.org\/manuscript\/202505.1472\/v1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.preprints.org\/manuscript\/202505.1472\/v1<\/a><br>(<em>Micro-local weather forecasting with grapevines<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Forest as a Sentient Entity and Computational Power: An Interview with Alessandro Chiolerio on &#8220;The Forest Code&#8221; and His Work as a Researcher. We publish the interview conducted by Davide Gomba (DG) with Alessandro Chiolerio (AC), the researcher featured in The Forest Code, a documentary on plant communication. Enjoy the read (or the watch)! [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":240138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-243283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243283"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243284,"href":"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243283\/revisions\/243284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}